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gOre no Sorah drama seriesf lead role to be chosen in open audition

March 30, 2011

Motomiya Hiroshifs manga gOre no Sora: Keiji-henh is being turned into a drama series on TV Asahi. A special website created for the project has announced that the lead actor will be decided through a public audition.

The original gOre no Sorah manga revolves around the growth of a young man named Yasuda Ippei, whose father is the leader of Japanfs greatest business conglomerate. In the gKeiji-henh sequel, Yasuda becomes a passionate rookie police detective.

In 1998, Takeuchi Riki starred as Yasuda in a V-cinema adaptation of the manga.

For TV Asahifs television drama version, producers are looking for an unsigned actor who will be between the ages of 18 and 30 as of May 31, 2011. The audition winner will get not only the starring role, but also 1 million yen in prize money.

TV Asahi has not yet announced when the drama will be broadcast.

Sources:
Comic Natalie
Mantan Web

gOre no Sorah lead to be decided by online voting, Kuninaka Ryoko to co-star
Posted on June 21, 2011 by tokyograph



In March, TV Asahi revealed that it was working on a drama adaptation of the Motomiya Hiroshi manga gOre no Sora: Keiji-hen.h More details have now been released, including the fact that the lead actor will be decided by an online poll. This is the first time that a drama series on a national network will have its star decided by votes on the Internet.

The original gOre no Sorah manga tells the story of a young man named Yasuda Ippei, whose father is the head of Japanfs greatest business conglomerate. In the gKeiji-henh sequel, the fiery Yasuda becomes a police detective.

TV Asahi initially announced that it would hold a public audition for the main character. The field of 2,700 applicants was whittled down to 10 finalists, and TV Asahi decided to have the winner determined by the public. As per the audition rules, all 10 are amateurs who are not currently signed with a management agency.

The finalists include 25-year-old Umeda Hiroki, who currently works as an assistant director for the TV Asahi show gMorning Bird!h All of the finalists can be seen on the gOre no Sorah website, which includes links to video introductions from each one of them. Each of them is also opening a personal blog today, and voting will begin at the same time.

Meanwhile, the dramafs female lead has already been decided. Actress Kuninaka Ryoko (31) will play a fellow detective who is also a potential love interest for the main character.

Actor Nagai Masaru (33) was also revealed as a cast member last month.

gOre no Sorah will air on Sundays at 11:00pm this fall.

Sources:
Sankei Sports
TV Asahi

NHK announces 2013 taiga drama, starring Ayase Haruka
Posted on June 22, 2011 by tokyograph



NHK has already announced its plans for its 2013 taiga drama. Titled gYae no Sakura,h the drama will star actress Ayase Haruka (26) in an original screenplay by gGegege no Nyoubouh writer Yamamoto Mutsumi.

gYae no Sakurah will tell the story of Niijima Yae, also known as Yamamoto Yaeko, who was born into the Aizu Domain during the late Edo period. Skilled in gunnery, she helped defend Aizu during the Boshin War, earning her the nickname of the gBakumatsu Joan of Arc.h After the war, she married educator Joseph Hardy Neesima (Niijima Jo) and became a Christian, and she helped Neesima found Doshisha University.

The story will take place mainly in the Fukushima prefecture, where Yae was originally from. NHK apparently chose the story partly in response to the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake.

Filming is expected to begin in the summer of next year. A total of 50 episodes are planned, starting in January 2013.

Sources:
Oricon
Mantan Web

Ito Hideaki to star in NHK suspense drama series
Posted on July 9, 2011 by tokyograph

Broadcaster NHK has announced that actor Ito Hideaki (35) will star in a new drama series titled gLast Money ~Ai no Nedan~.h Inspired by a real-life series of murders for insurance money, the show is described as a tale of psychological suspense revolving around themes of love and money.

Ito, who has never before played the lead in an NHK series, has been cast as a claims adjuster for a life insurance company. While burdened with a past trauma involving an insurance claim, he begins investigating a woman suspected of marriage fraud, played by Takashima Reiko.

Supporting cast members include Nakamaru Yuichi (KAT-TUN), Matsushige Yutaka, Tabata Tomoko, Tanaka Tetsushi, Ibu Masato, and Natsuyagi Isao.

gLast Moneyh begins airing on September 13 in NHKfs Tuesday 10:00pm time slot and will continue for 7 episodes.

Source:
Oricon



gKoko ga Uwasa no El Palacioh being adapted to TV drama
Posted on July 9, 2011 by tokyograph


Aoyagi Takaofs comedy manga gKoko ga Uwasa no El Palacioh (also known as gWelcome to the El-Palacioh) is being turned into a live-action television series. TV Tokyo will broadcast the show this fall, though the time slot has not yet been announced.

gKoko ga Uwasa no El Palacioh is a popular series that is currently being published in Shogakukanfs Gessan magazine since 2009. The third collected volume was released this past May.

The story revolves around a man who loses his memory in a traffic accident and wakes up surrounded by the women of the El Palacio – a female professional wrestling group. Unable to regain his memory, he ends up living with the El Palacio and becoming their referee.

Details such as the cast assignments have not yet been revealed.

Source:
Comic Natalie

Kamikawa Takaya, Sasaki Nozomi, Terawaki Yasufumi in drama adaptation of mystery novel gKashah
Posted on July 14, 2011 by tokyograph

Images from: Oricon

The acclaimed 1992 mystery novel gKashah by author Miyabe Miyuki is getting a new television drama adaptation, starring Kamikawa Takaya, Sasaki Nozomi, and Terawaki Yasufumi.

Miyabefs original novel won the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize, a prestigious literary prize, and in 2008 it was ranked #1 by the gKono Mystery ga Sugoi!h magazine in a gBest of Besth list for the past 20 years. The novel has also been translated into English under the title gAll She Was Worth.h

The story is set in Tokyo in 1992, shortly after the burst of the economic bubble in Japan. Kamikawa plays Honma Shunsuke, a police detective on temporary leave due to an injury. Honma receives a request from a male relative to search for his fiancee, who has suddenly gone missing. Along with his colleague (Terawaki), Honma begins tracking down the woman, who appears to have a history of bankruptcy and a possible stolen identity.

Sasaki, who has never had a true role in a mystery drama before this, will play a mysterious woman who is critical to the investigation.

TV Asahi will broadcast the drama as a single-episode special, though no broadcast date has been announced yet.

Source:
Oricon

Kimura Yoshino, Nakamura Aoi play siblings in mystery drama gMajutsu wa Sasayakuh
Posted on July 19, 2011 by tokyograph

Actress Kimura Yoshino (35) is starring in a Fuji TV mystery drama special titled gMajutsu wa Sasayaku,h based on the Miyabe Miyuki novel of the same name. Kimura is currently pregnant with her first child, but this will be her last television drama before she goes on maternity leave.

gMajutsu wa Sasayaku,h considered to be one of Miyabefs early masterpieces, tells the story of a woman named Kazuko (Kimura) who was guilty of a gserious crimeh in the past, along with three of her friends. Those friends suddenly begin to die one by one. Kazuko learns that one of those deaths is somehow connected to Mamoru (Nakamura Aoi), her younger brother from whom she has been separated ever since their father disappeared 15 years earlier. Although Mamoru knows nothing of his sister, Kazuko is determined to find the killer in order to protect Mamoru and herself.

Koike Eiko, Tanimura Mitsuki, Mashima Hidekazu, Kusamura Reiko, Satoda Mai, Rokkaku Seiji, Osugi Ren, Matsushige Yutaka, Kato Haruko, Harada Mieko, and Okuda Eiji will also appear in the drama.

Fuji TV will broadcast the drama in its gKinyo Prestigeh time slot (Friday 9:00-10:52pm), sometime in September.

Sources:
Mantan Web
Oricon

http://www.tokyograph.com/news/kimura-yoshino-nakamura-aoi-play-siblings-in-mystery-drama-majutsu-wa-sasayaku

Ichihara Hayato stars as fugitive in gRunawayh
Posted on July 24, 2011 by tokyograph

Image from: Sankei Sports

Ichihara Hayato (24) has been chosen to star in an action drama series on TBS this fall, titled gRunaway ~Aisuru Kimi no Tame ni~.h He will play the part of a fugitive who is on the run after escaping from prison, trying to make his way back to his daughter.

The adrenaline-pumping thriller is described as having a rapid pace and a chain of unraveling mysteries, making it reminiscent of the popular American television series gPrison Break.h Ichihara plays a man who is falsely charged with murder and thrown into a prison in Kitakyushu. With his colleagues, he escapes from the jail and must overcome a series of ordeals as he races 1,000 kilometers back to Tokyo, where his beloved daughter is in danger.

For Ichihara, this will be the first time that he has played the part of a father.

gRunawayh will premiere in October. Coincidentally, Ichiharafs movie gDOG x POLICE,h in which he plays a policeman, opens in theaters the same month.

TBS will broadcast gRunawayh on Thursday nights at 9:00pm. After the long-running drama gWataru Seken wa Oni Bakarih ends in September, TBS will officially rename that time slot gMokuyo Drama 9,h using it only for dramas instead of the mix of dramas and variety shows it has been airing until now.

Since Ichihara will be the first star of the new time slot, producers are hoping that gRunawayh will become a hit similar to Ichiharafs gROOKIES,h which kicked off TBSfs Saturday 8:00pm drama time slot in 2008.

Source:
Sankei Sports

Abe Hiroshi, Horikita Maki, Hamada Gaku in drama remake of gThe Yellow Handkerchiefh

Posted on July 25, 2011

NTV plans to air a modern-day remake of Yamada Yojifs classic 1977 film gShiawase no Kiiroi Hankachih (gThe Yellow Handkerchiefh) as a TV drama special this fall. The lead role, played by Takakura Ken in the original, will this time be played by Abe Hiroshi.

gThe Yellow Handkerchiefh is a road movie set in Hokkaido, revolving around an ex-convict named Shima Yusaku (Abe) who has just been released from prison. Along with two young strangers that he meets, he sets out on a journey back to where his wife is, uncertain of what awaits him. Horikita Maki and Hamada Gaku will play the two strangers (originally played by Momoi Kaori and Takeda Tetsuya), while Natsukawa Yui will play the wife (originally Baisho Chieko).

Oginome Keiko, Endo Kenichi, Nakamura Tamao, and Kusabue Mitsuko have also been cast in supporting roles.

Yamada Yoji is personally supervising the remake, as well as writing the script. This is Yamadafs first time in about 21 years writing for a terrestrial broadcast television drama.

The exact broadcast date is not yet known, but is planned for sometime in fall of this year.

Sources:
Oricon
Sports Hochi

^ Abe and Natsukawa back tgether again... One of my favorite pairings. :victory:

Abe and Natsukawa together again, yay! :woot:

I'll third the Abe-Natsukawa reunion :woot:

But when will it be Fujiki and Esumi's turn to reunite onscreen? :( :(

junny wrote:I'll third the Abe-Natsukawa reunion :woot:

But when will it be Fujiki and Esumi's turn to reunite onscreen? :( :(

Seconded the Fujiki-Esumi reunion!

WD wrote:Seconded the Fujiki-Esumi reunion!

Is Esumi even acting anymore?

She seems to have disappeared...

bmwracer wrote:Is Esumi even acting anymore?

She seems to have disappeared...

Eh? Esumi is in Bull Doctor, and she got reunited with Inagaki 14 years after Koi no Katamichi Kippu, so Fujiki-Esumi is still possible... I hope. :sweat:

WD: yay, another Fujiki-Esumi fan!

junny wrote:Eh? Esumi is in Bull Doctor, and she got reunited with Inagaki 14 years after Koi no Katamichi Kippu, so Fujiki-Esumi is still possible... I hope. :sweat:

So ka... I guess I missed those two dramas. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:So ka... I guess I missed those two dramas. :sweat:

Heh, it's okay. Juri-chan must be keeping you busy with Go. Has Mukai Osamu appeared in the drama yet?

Abe and Natsukawa
I'm a fan of both! I must watch this lol

If this is their third time together, was Shinzanmono the second time?

junny wrote:Heh, it's okay. Juri-chan must be keeping you busy with Go. Has Mukai Osamu appeared in the drama yet?

In the Japan broadcasts, yes: they're on Episode 28.

Locally in SoCal, no: we're only on Episode 21.

My life just spiralled downhill: Fukada Kyoko double bill until 2013.

My poor Fujiki! :mecry:


Fukada Kyoko, Fujiki Naohito, Kiritani Kenta in gWatashi wa Shadowh drama adaptation
Posted on July 26, 2011 by tokyograph

Image from: Mantan Web

Kasuya Norikofs josei manga gWatashi wa Shadowh is being adapted as a live-action television drama on TBS this fall. The show, which is tentatively titled gSengyou Shufu Tantei ~ Watashi wa Shadow,h will star actress Fukada Kyoko (28) with Fujiki Naohito (39) and Kiritani Kenta (31).

gWatashi wa Shadowh was serialized in Shueishafs YOU magazine until autumn of last year. It tells the story of Asagi Serina, a housewife who ends up becoming a detective. Producers say that Fukada will appear in at least 20 different costumes over the course of the series, as she sneaks into various places in order to carry out her detective work.

Fujiki will play Serinafs husband, and Kiritani will play the detective who causes Serina to also become a detective. Other cast members include Furuta Arata, Ashina Sei, Endo Kenichi, Ishida Yuriko, and Kohinata Fumiyo.

TBS will broadcast the series on Fridays at 10:00pm, starting in October.

Sources:
Mantan Web
Sports Hochi
Tokyograph link

Uchino Masaaki to star in TV Tokyofs 2012 Shinshun Wide Jidaigeki
Posted on July 27, 2011 by tokyograph

Image from: Mantan Web

TV Tokyo has revealed details about its next New Yearfs historical drama special, known as the gShinshun Wide Jidaigeki.h For 2012, the drama has been tentatively titled gChushingura ~Sono Gi Sono Ai~h and will star actor Uchino Masaaki (42) as Horibe Yasubei, a master swordsman who was one of the Forty-seven Ronin.

Uchinofs biggest jidaigeki roles so far include Sakamoto Ryoma in the drama series gJINh and Yamamoto Kansuke in the taiga drama gFurinkazan.h

For this drama, Uchino will star opposite Tachi Hiroshi (61), who will play the part of Oishi Kuranosuke, the leader of the Forty-seven Ronin. The story will focus on the conflict between Horibe and Oishi, despite them later working together to avenge their master.

TV Tokyo has been airing a gShinshun Wide Jidaigekih every year since 1979, though it has gradually decreased from a length of 12 hours to its current length of 7 hours. This will be the 5th time that the drama will involve the Chushingura story, though it will be the first one with Horibe as the central character.

gChushingura ~Sono Gi Sono Ai~h is scheduled for broadcast on January 2, 2012.

Source:
Mantan Web

^ Hmm.

The story of the 47 Ronin has been done to death... :sweat: